Adaptation
by Le Monde
Summary: Shipwrecked, on an island where the people are just as foreign as the land. Can the captain and his crew adapt to this unfamiliar place or will they wither into nothing without their natural environment to thrive in?
1. Prologue

- Adaptation -

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><p><em>Learning is any change in a system that produces a more or less permanent change in its capacity for adapting to its environment.<em>

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><p>"What are you blundering idiots doing!" the captain bellowed at his men. "Pull the lines! Pull the lines tight!"<p>

The chaotic movements of the storm though thwarted the captain's men. They scrambled around as they tried to follow orders through the heavy rain and thundering storm.

The sounds of pulleys, thunder and the occasional cursing from the captain were all that were heard on this frenzied night.

"Captain! It's no use! The storm is just too strong for her!" one of his men down on the deck yelled.

The captain's piercing glare made the crew shiver, and men who live out in the cold, hard seas _did not_ _shiver_.

"We will stop when my dead body is at the pit of the ocean. Is that clear?"

The crews' silently agreed by continuing their fruitless workings of the sails and ropes.

The captain stood at the top of the deck, trying to steer his girl to any dry land. He knew that trying to fix the sails was a useless waste of time, but it kept his men doing something besides worrying. He took out his compass and stared at it as if it held his only salvation out of this damned rainstorm.

"Captain!" He heard from the overhead deck. "Over there! It may be land!"

The captain's head snapped in the direction the man was pointing, and while difficult to see at night through the pounding rain, it was most definitely land.

"Aye! Head due east! Now!" the captain ordered.

The crew, now filled with hope of getting somewhere dry, enthusiastically went to work fulfilling their captain's direction.

Alas, this adrenaline rush of sailing the harsh seas that these sailors lived for was cut short. A wave as mountainous as Everest came crashing down upon their beloved ship, knocking most of the men overboard and then soon after, the ship herself.

Men's shouts were deafened by the waters as their arms flailed in the air hopelessly.

The blackness that encased the captain frightened him and he wished that none of his men see him such a state. No honorable captain should be afraid of anything. The fire of suffocation was nothing compared to the feeling of isolation he was experiencing. He thrashed about, gasping for air when the seas allowed him, before he too, succumbed to the almighty Mother Nature.

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><p>It was cold, absolutely, downright cold. And Roxas really hated being cold. His head felt clogged and sluggish while his body was rigid and numb. He wanted to move, start getting the blood pumping in his body, but he couldn't even wiggle his toes. In fact, he couldn't even seem to open his eyes.<p>

He felt something warm touch his forehead. The warmth though was soon retracted and he wished he could voice to put whatever warmth it was back on his head. This feeling, however, gave him a sense of power. He willed his eyes to open for the longest of time and for a second they did.

He caught a glimpse of golden hair flying through the air.

It was absolutely beautiful. It reminded him of the sun, the blistering sun he had come to love so much. The sun that gave him burns upon his back and shoulders when he stayed out too long, the sun that provided him with light, the sun that shunned the darkness away.

But this flitting moment was all he saw before the darkness of unconsciousness took him away again.

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><p>An audible groan could be heard from the corner of her hut. The script that was in her hands was long forgotten as she hurried over to the bizarre man that was found upon the shorelines earlier that morning.<p>

His eyes were still shut closed by the time she crossed the room to him, a wet cloth in hand. She gently placed it on his forehead, hoping it would bring him to consciousness.

The cool sensation did just as she hoped for as his eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly from confusion.

"Oh!" She gasped. Not knowing what to say to such a strange man.

Roxas didn't seem to notice her presence immediately, but instead his eyes fell upon the leaf ceiling and the native décor hanging about the room.

"You're awake!" the girl said, more to herself than him.

It was then that Roxas realized he wasn't at the bottom of the ocean, but still in fact, very much alive and breathing. He then looked over to the side to see a girl, who was way too close for comfort, in his face, staring at him like a new trinket she had just discovered.

He rushed to his feet in a battle stance, a strategy already forming in his head on how to escape. But this plan was ruined when a pang of pain hit his head. His hands grasped his head from the ache.

"Oh my! Here! Drink this!"

He heard a rustling go about the room before a drink was thrust into his mouth, much to his displeasure. Roxas didn't exactly go around taking strange drinks, yet alone taking one from an even stranger girl.

But his irritation was set aside as the sweet liquid quenched a thirst he had not noticed. The throbbing in his head dulled and he regained his senses for the most part.

He then truly looked at the person standing in front of him. She was smiling just a bit too perky and had a twinkle in her eye that he didn't like. Her fair skin made the blue in her eyes more pronounced.

"Hi there!" she welcomed loudly. "I'm Xion! What's your name?"

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><p><em>AN time!_

_Land ahoy!_

_So I was watching Pirates and then this popped in my head... :) Enjoy and merci beaucoup!_

_Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!_

_I should probably just stop with the pirate jokes..._


	2. Chapter 1

- Adaptation -

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><p><em>It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. - Charles Darwin<em>

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><p>From what Xion had told him, his ship was wrecked upon the shoreline of their tiny island. She also informed him in a too merrily tone of voice that some of his men were also found and recovering as well. At first, Roxas was put off by Xion too happy, go-lucky mannerisms, but as the day progressed, he started becoming numb to them.<p>

"So, Xion," Roxas started.

"Yessss?" She replied, drawing out the s sound in a child like behavior.

"Could I go ahead and, you know, check up on my men now?"

He had wanted to from the start of the day, but Xion insisted that he needed fresh air, and by fresh air she meant a tour of the entire island. And Roxas, being the gentlemen that he is, couldn't refuse her pleas. He didn't expect that she would have him out all day long. Dusk was approaching and he really just wanted to see his crew, or what was left of it.

"Oh Roxy!" She said, Roxas mentally flinching from the nickname she had given him when he introduced himself. "Don't you trust my people to do their job? They are in the hands of the best healer in the village!"

"Of course I trust that they are in very capable hands, but seeing is believing, right?" Roxas tried convincing; he didn't know how much longer he could be around this girl and keep his sanity intact.

Xion pouted stubbornly, but finally agreed. He silently thanked God as she led him to another hut that was on the other side of the village. As they passed through the village, he continued to be stared at like an alien. Roxas tried keeping his head down to be more discreet, but it was futile. Throughout the day, the villagers had been gawking and mumbling about Roxas and his crew. He was the newest bit of gossip that the village rarely got. He felt odd and out of place wearing his basic-colored tunic, pants and boots while the villagers wore brightly patterned clothes. As if he didn't stick out enough.

Roxas knew of course that there were indigenous people living on the islands that scattered the oceans, he just never thought he would have to be face to face with them. He stayed out of their territory and they left him and his men alone.

Xion and he finally made it to the healer's house and upon entering Roxas felt much more comfortable as he saw familiar faces around him. They were unconscious sure, but it was a consoling sense that they were here with him. He wasn't alone.

"Sister!" Xion exclaimed as she embraced the auburn haired girl in the room.

"Xion." the girl replied coolly, as she returned the younger girl's hug. She took notice of Roxas as soon as she and Xion's intimate moment ended.

"And who might this be?" She asked, walking over to where Roxas stood.

"How terribly rude of me, I'm Roxas Charles of Hemmingshire." He diplomatically introduced as he gave her a small bow. His father always taught him to be on his best manners in the presence of a lady. No matter how much that bastard of a father was, he had at least instilled a sense of etiquettes within his children that Roxas was thankful for.

"Such formality is unnecessary, Mr. Charles," She replied. "I'm Kairi."

He nodded and turned his attention to his men who lay unconscious.

"They are sick with _malidehypo_." Kairi said, ending her sentence in her native tongue. "Or as your people call it, hypothermia."

Roxas' eyes were filled with concern as he stared down upon his best mates. Hayner was on the closest cot to him, eyes closed but breathing steadily. Sora, Axel and Pence were aligned in the same fashion next to him. They all seemed to be in the same state, rigid, but slow, even breathing.

"They will be fine; the remedy we gave them will hold them over until the healer comes back from her journey with the medicine needed for such illness." Kairi continued, seeing the worry etched in his eyes.

Taking in the first bit of useful information he had received all day, Roxas was confused at how he was able to recover so quickly and they did not.

"The healer gave the last of our supply to you." She noted, seeming to reading his mind.

"And your healer will be back when?" Roxas inquired, taking a seat next to Sora.

"The plants needed for this medicine are easily found; it should take her no longer than a couple hours." Kairi replied. Roxas mentally cursed, if he were back at Hemmingshire the medicine would be a walk away instead of hours of just trying to find the plants to make it.

Xion was squirming where she stood, not liking the seriousness mood the room had taken on. Neither Roxas nor Kairi seemed to notice her petty distress.

Roxas stood solemnly by his men, feeling completely useless. He was their captain and yet here he was, handing their lives over to a mysterious village and their odd medicines. Roxas was always in control and knew the outcomes of his situations. The situation that he was in now didn't bide well with him, but the natives here were being hospitable and so he couldn't complain, no matter how angry he was at himself.

"Are they the only ones," Roxas swallowed, "that survived?"

"No, there are six more that reside in another house. I will take you to them later on." Kairi said calmingly. Roxas had about fifteen manning his ship and he didn't want to think about the five that he had lost due to his miscalculations.

"Xion," Kairi said, snapping Xion out of her fidgeting state, "will you go see if sister is back."

"Okay," she replied, sighing with relief. "Roxy, take care." She gave him a small wave before briskly leaving the room.

"I'm sorry if she had been bothering you all day, I know she can be a bit," Kairi stopped, trying to find a tactful way of describing her sister's attributes, "overwhelming."

"Ah, yes, she is a lot to handle, but she harmed me in no way." Roxas said.

Kairi nodded and motioned for him to follow her. Roxas followed quietly and the two ventured to the hut next door where the rest of his crew lay in the same condition as the other four.

Once the two returned to the healer's hut, a silence soon enveloped the room. Only the breathing of the four unconscious bodies seemed to fill the room. It wasn't anything uncomfortable, Kairi could see that he needed the quietness and she went back sewing the tear in one of her skirts. Roxas wordlessly thanked her for this gift.

They continued in this fashion for an hour or so until they heard multiple footsteps coming towards the door. Roxas jumped to his feet, hoping it was the healer.

The first through the door was an older white-haired man, followed by Xion. Roxas couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that it wasn't the healer with the antidote in hand.

"You must be Roxas." The older man said with a slight accent, giving Roxas a once over. Roxas did the same, taking in his tanned skin and small stature. Roxas stood well over half a foot taller than him. But whatever this man lacked in height, Roxas was sure he made up with intelligence.

"Yes, I am sir," Roxas replied, bowing even though Kairi had told him it was not needed.

The older man paused, not quite sure whether he should be hostile towards this young man and his motley crew or help them. He decided he would be polite until proven otherwise that these men were trouble. He and his people did not handle things with violence and he wanted to keep it that way.

"I'm Chief Ismann," Ismann greeted, also bowing. He then turned towards Kairi.

"_Ayish eu humd freudi, shyundet noh ri nach_?" He asked.

"_Ma, noh eui't nach, noh shyund ri reutrong koer_." Kairi answered.

Roxas was staring at the two, annoyed somewhat. He didn't like feeling out of the discussion, especially in this foreign land where they could be planning to kill him for all he knew.

"My father is asking why isn't my sister back yet." Came a small whisper in his ear. Roxas jumped a little in surprise, forgetting that Xion was in the room. "Kairi then said that she should be back soon."

He nodded in appreciation for her translation. The father and daughter continued to converse as Xion kept translating for Roxas.

Their conversation was soon interrupted as a girl with golden colored hair, carrying an abundance of plants, came rushing through the door.

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><p><em>Here's to hoping that I will keep on this story like a skank is to a manwhore. :)<em>

_Yes, I came up with random gibberish as a language. Don't ask what it means 'cause I don't even know..._

_My love and thoughts go out to my fellow countrymen/women who have lost/known anyone in the 9/11 tragedy. They represent true heroes._

_Merci Beaucoup! And keep on reading!_


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